3 takeaways from Alabama football’s thrilling win over Georgia

Kalen DeBoer’s first SEC game as Alabama football head coach is set. The Crimson Tide beat Georgia 41-34 and emerged victorious after a thrilling finish despite leading 30-7 at halftime.

What was almost a completely embarrassing UGA comeback ended when the defense made one final stop after Ryan Williams gave Alabama the lead back with a long touchdown.

The Crimson Tide travel to Vanderbilt next, while the Bulldogs face Auburn in Athens. Before that, here are three insights from the game on Saturday.

Hot start

As soon as the ball was kicked, Alabama came out firing. The Crimson Tide dominated all facets to start Saturday.

The Tide started with the ball and marched down the field. Jalen Milroe scored first with a 7-yard run.

Alabama’s defense did its job and forced a punt. Another touchdown quickly followed, a perfect throw from Milroe to Jam Miller out of the backfield on a play perfectly set up by offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan.

When the Bulldogs finally answered, Alabama was up 28-0. Not insurmountable, of course, but it certainly makes things more difficult at UGA.

Milroe didn’t throw his first incompletion until 3:55 into the second quarter, a play that required video review to make sure Germie Bernard hadn’t caught him.

Swarm D

After the Crimson Tide’s too-close performance against South Florida in Week 2, defensive coordinator Kane Wommack issued an ultimatum. Zero takeaways were unacceptable.

Against Wisconsin, Alabama fixed the problem. In the game against Georgia, the defense was even more impressive.

Wommack’s Crimson Tide defense went after Carson Beck, bringing the UGA QB, one of the preseason leading candidates for the Heisman Trophy, to the ground and intercepting him multiple times.

It obviously wasn’t perfect. Georgia took a late Tide lead, but UA’s offense responded, and freshman DB Zabien Brown intercepted Beck late to end the game.

Things got a little tricky towards the end as the Crimson Tide offense also wasn’t able to put up the numbers it had at the beginning of the game. However, Wommack and Co. got the job done against an offense with plenty of star power that was clearly the toughest test of the season.

Still on top

Maybe the apocalypse was exaggerated. When Nick Saban retired, college football was the reign of Kirby Smart, the dominant narrative persisting for years.

Alabama’s win doesn’t mean the dynasty isn’t dead. In fact, with the new 12-team playoff, that means fewer than ever before in college football history.

But what DeBoer and Co. showed on Saturday was the ability to be with anyone. The No. 1 (or No. 2, depending on your preferred poll) team in the country came to Bryant-Denny Stadium and couldn’t hold out.

The Crimson Tide passed a test. UA will certainly rise when the AP Media and Coaches Top 25 polls are updated on Sunday, moving a little closer to the top of the college football world.

In the meantime, the Bulldogs must do some soul searching. After the loss, which was preceded by a poor performance at Kentucky, the Alabama dynasty may not be in immediate danger.